


The Visit

by soupjunky



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Bottom Asra, Eventual Smut, M/M, Other, Soft Muriel (The Arcana), Sweet Asra (The Arcana), Top Muriel, Two Shot, asra is doing all the work though, i haven't been on ao3 since 2015 and i dont remember how to tag, muriel is a big dumb baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22181833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupjunky/pseuds/soupjunky
Summary: Asra drops by Muriel's hut and things heat up from there.
Relationships: Asra & Muriel (The Arcana), Asra/Muriel (The Arcana)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 102





	The Visit

**Author's Note:**

> hooooo boy i'm trying to get back into writing so my apologies if this is really bland! it's been a while but i love these two so i am finally conquering my fic drought. i'm planning on doing two chapters but the second one is probably just going to be smut.

It was a warm summer afternoon when Asra knocked on the gnarled wooden door of the hut. He waited patiently for an answer, more than happy to bask in the sunlight and listen to the sounds of the forest. He didn't have to wait long, though. There was a slow shuffling noise from behind the door, then a dull clicking of the lock, and finally Muriel appeared in the doorway. He seemed expressionless at first glance, but over the years Asra had learned how to read his stunted emotions. He caught the way the bigger man’s lips quirked upwards for a split second and how his eyes crinkled ever so briefly at the corners. “Come in,” Muriel mumbled gruffly, retreating back into the hut. Not exactly warm or inviting, but it was still an invitation. Asra followed him inside, shutting the door carefully behind him and shrugging off his overcoat. Muriel stood awkwardly in front of the fireplace, assessing the situation from a safe distance. “Why are you here?” he asked. It was a blunt question, but not rude. Not intentionally, anyway. Asra made himself at home, hanging his coat on a peg near the door and taking a seat on the edge of Muriel’s bed. “I missed you, that’s why.” He cracked a sunny grin.

Muriel blinked, a faint dusting of pink appearing on his cheeks — although it was nearly impossible to spot through the dark hair hanging in front of his face. “You’re strange,” he mumbled after a moment, but his voice was tinged with affection. Asra just laughed in response. “Would you like to come sit with me?” he asked, patting the spot on the bed beside him. Muriel hesitated, suspicious as always. After a long pause he nodded, shuffling over to the bed and taking a seat. His bulking figure took up most of the available space, but he was very careful not to brush up against Asra as he sat down. Asra respected his space - he knew it stemmed from Muriel’s deeply ingrained fear of hurting someone. “How was your day?” he asked, looking up at the man with a gentle smile. Muriel’s eyes flickered over to meet his, and he shrugged, the movement accompanied by the sound of chains rattling and metal buckles clacking together. “Fine,” he muttered. There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. “How - how was yours?” His conversational skills were not very developed, but Asra could tell he was trying hard.

“It was lovely,” he murmured, a content smile still adorning his face. “I had a really nice brunch and then went shopping.” He reached up to finger the plum-colored silk scarf draped around his shoulders. “I bought this. Feel it, it’s soft.” Muriel looked startled by the offer, but after a moment of consideration he lifted his hand and brushed his calloused fingertips over the edge of the fabric. He gave a small nod of approval. Before he could pull his hand away, Asra laid his own smaller palm over top of it. Muriel froze, his eyes darting up to Asra’s face before back down to their hands. His fingers trembled like he was mere seconds away from yanking his hand back, but he trusted Asra enough to stay put. For now. “What are you doing?” he huffed. Asra hummed, making sure to keep his touches light and gentle as he curled his fingers around Muriel’s palm and rubbed his thumb over the man’s knuckles. “I’m holding your hand,” he said, his tone patient but amused. Muriel wanted to pull away from him, but Asra’s hand was soft, and the slow stroking movements of his thumb made something warm and pleasant stir in Muriel’s chest. “Why?” he asked looking totally unable to comprehend the situation. His hands were big and rough and clumsy; they had no business being graced with such sweet, delicate touches.

Asra’s eyes were twinkling. “I thought you might like it,” he explained, his fingers ghosting over the back of Muriel’s wrist. “It’s nice to be touched, sometimes. Holding hands, hugs, kisses. They feel good.” Muriel’s cheeks darkened and he looked away, suddenly bombarded with the realization that he couldn’t remember the last time he had been touched by another human. Asra’s voice gently coaxed him away from his thoughts. “Is it alright? I’ll stop if you don’t like it.” Muriel shook his head quickly, looking down at their hands once again. “No. I like it,” he said firmly, giving Asra’s hand a quick squeeze. His face was red and his insides felt like they were all tangled up. Asra smiled up at him, deciding to push his luck just a bit more. He would never want to make Muriel uncomfortable, but he knew the man trusted him and it seemed like he was enjoying the physical contact between them. “Have you ever been kissed, Muriel?”

Asra had never seen Muriel look so shocked. He just stared, that startled, wide-eyed expression frozen on his face. It took him a rather long time to collect himself, clearing his throat and avoiding eye contact before he finally spoke. “It doesn’t matter,” he huffed, suddenly seeming standoffish and annoyed. However, it was clear to Asra that he was simply embarrassed rather than actually upset. He tried to soothe Muriel, still stroking the back of his hand. “It’s alright if you haven’t. There’s a first time for everything. Anybody would be lucky to kiss you, you know.” Muriel barked out a coarse, humorless laugh. “You don’t have to coddle me,” he muttered. “Nobody would want to kiss me.” He said this like it was a fact, too blinded by his own self-hatred to consider the consider the possibility that someone could be attracted to him. Asra felt a pang of sadness, suddenly wanting nothing more than to give Muriel all the affection and love in the world. He certainly deserved it. “That’s not true at all. I’d be happy to kiss you.”

Muriel’s face turned about three shades darker and he pulled his hand away. “Don’t lie to me,” he snapped, immediately regretting his tone. “I didn’t mean — I’m sorry.” His shoulders drooped and he looked incredibly frustrated with himself. Asra took this in stride, carefully taking Muriel’s hand once again and cupping it between both of his own. “I know you didn’t mean it. It’s alright. But I wasn’t lying.” He brought Muriel’s hand up to his lips and kissed his knuckles softly. “I’d love to kiss you, if you wanted me to.” Muriel’s heart hurt. He knew he didn’t deserve to be treated so well after he lost his temper like that. Asra had never been anything but kind to him, even when he was cold and mean in return. And then Muriel realized what Asra had said. Did he really want to kiss him? It seemed too good to be true, and even if it wasn’t, Muriel had another problem. “I - I don’t know how,” he said in a voice so low it was barely audible. Surely that would change Asra’s mind. He wouldn’t want to kiss somebody who had no idea what they were doing. But Asra didn’t seem disgusted or even slightly put off. “That’s alright. I could teach you. I promise it’s not hard.” He was grinning as he spoke. “Besides, you’re a fast learner.” Muriel felt like his heart was beating out of his chest. The prospect of getting a kiss was crazy enough, but from someone like Asra ... except there was no one like Asra; he was akin to an angel in Muriel’s mind. Soft and elegant and ethereal. The situation felt unreal. “What if I do it wrong?” he mumbled. If that happened he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.  
“There’s no wrong way to kiss,” Asra assured him. “It’ll be easy, I promise. You can just copy what I do.” 

Muriel swallowed hard, his cheeks flushed and eyes darting around nervously. “Okay,” he finally said, his gaze settling on the floor and staying glued there. Asra squeezed his hand before letting go of it and standing up from the bed. He stood in front of Muriel, now at eye level with him even though the other man was still sitting. “I need you to look at me,” he chided gently. “Otherwise this might be a little difficult.” Muriel raised his head very slowly. He still didn’t make eye contact, but it was progress. Asra reached forward to cup his jaw in one hand, tracing his thumb over a particularly deep scar on Muriel’s cheek. “Are you sure this is alright?” he asked. “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” Muriel took a long, slow breath. “No. I want to.” He did want to, more than anything. He had dreamed of this moment for years, but now that it was here it felt like just that - a dream. Asra's hand on his cheek eased him back to reality, and he finally forced himself to make eye contact. "I want to. I promise," he mumbled once again. Asra seemed delighted by this. He wasted no time, bringing his other hand up to Muriel's face and gazing at him lovingly before he leaned in to press their lips together. Muriel sat there, frozen for what felt like an eternity. Asra's lips were softer than anything he'd ever felt. Warm, too. And then, ever-so-slowly, he began to kiss back. It was clumsy at first, their noses bumping and teeth clacking. But eventually Muriel figured out how to copy Asra's movements, and soon their lips seemed to move together naturally. It was a soft, chaste, kiss, and yet it lasted until neither of them could breathe. 

Muriel pulled away first, his mouth hanging open slightly and his breathing ragged. For a moment he felt so dizzy with pleasure that he thought he might pass out - but he didn't, instead meeting Asra's eyes nervously. Although the kiss had been heavenly for Muriel, he was worried that his lack of experience had been disappointing or off putting. "Was that - was that okay?" he asked hesitantly. Asra's wide smile said it all. "Of course it was," he murmured, still cupping Muriel's face with tender hands. "It was wonderful. Would you like to do it again?" 

Muriel couldn't hide the smile that crept onto his face. "...Yes"


End file.
